Super Mario 64 begins with a letter from inviting Mario to come to her castle for a cake she has baked for him. When he arrives, Mario discovers that has invaded the castle and imprisoned the princess and her servants within it using the power of 105 of the castle's 120 Power Stars. Many of the castle's paintings are portals to other realms, in which Bowser's minions keep watch over the stars. Mario searches the castle for these portals to enter the worlds and recover the stars. He gains access to more rooms as he recovers more stars, and will have to tackle three obstacle courses leading to a battle with Bowser. Defeating Bowser the first two times earns Mario a key for opening another level of the castle, while the final battle releases Peach and rolls the credits. Peach rewards Mario by baking the cake that she had promised him.

The game starts with at the , an event which happens only once every 100 years. The Star Festival happens when enough is finally born that it turns into a new . This will help to keep the safe from danger.

As Mario is making his way to , the world is filled with 's airships, demanding to take Princess Peach. Mario runs to the castle but he only manages to jump on to the side of the castle, as it's uprooted and sent into the air, with Peach on it.

As the castle is lifted up, Mario falls off into the distance. He lands on a strange planet, and is welcomed by three disguised as . He is told that the rabbits will help them if he catches them. Then he is introduced to a mysterious woman named , who somehow "expects" Mario to help her gather the power stars to power her , so that the Lumas can survive, and Mario can save his .

Rosalina gives Mario the power to , so that he can fly to other planets by launching from stars. Mario is instructed to save the from the , and then he flies to the Comet Observatory where he can travel to other galaxies through .

Once Mario recovers 60 Power Stars from the Galaxies, he is given the opportunity to travel to the center of the Universe where he may rescue his special one

The game takes place on the tropical resort of Isle Delfino ( for "dolphin"). The island is mainly inhabited by the races Piantas and Nokis. Isle Delfino is in the shape of a . The island comprises ten available locations. Delfino Plaza is Isle Delfino's capital and the game's main hub.

Mario sets out for Isle Delfino for a vacation with , her long-time steward , and some other , hoping for a relaxing vacation. Upon arrival, Mario finds that the once-pristine island has been polluted and plastered with . As a result of this , sun-shaped objects called "Shine Sprites", the island's sources of power, have disappeared, and the island is covered in a perpetual shadow. The culprit seen spreading the graffiti is disguised as Mario (referred to as "Shadow Mario"). Mario is promptly arrested as he arrives at the island. He is put on trial, found guilty, and ordered to clean up the mess and return the Shine Sprites. To help with the cleaning, Mario finds FLUDD, a powerful water cannon which is toted like a . Mario sets out on an adventure to clear his name and locate the real criminal, while restoring tranquility and order to Isle Delfino.

After numerous incidents, Mario follows Shadow Mario , who has kidnapped Princess Peach, to an . There, Mario defeats a huge robot being controlled by Shadow Mario. It is then revealed that Shadow Mario's real identity is , the son of . Bowser Jr. takes off in a with Princess Peach, whom he believes is his mother, thanks to Bowser. He is last seen heading for Corona Mountain where his father is awaiting. After Mario beats Shadow Mario in all of the locations, he enters Corona Mountain, defeats Bowser and rescues Princess Peach, however, FLUDD becomes damaged and is supposedly beyond repair.The Toads repair FLUDD shortly afterward and Mario, Peach and the others then begin the vacation.

Bowser

Captain Falcon

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong

Falco

Fox

Ganondorf

Ice Climbers

Ike

Jigglypuff

King Dedede

Kirby

Link

Lucario

Lucas

Luigi

Mario

Marth

Meta Knight

Mr. Game & Watch

Ness

Peach

Pikachu

Pikmin & Olimar

Pit

Pokémon Trainer

R.O.B.

Samus

Zero Suit Samus

Solid Snake

NOTE: In the Metal Gear Solid series, the 'Les Enfants Terribles' is a cloning project that created as well as his "brothers" (Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake). They are all created from the DNA from their "father," Big Boss (in addition, the younger version of Big Boss almost look like Solid Snake).

Sonic

Toon Link

Wario

Wolf

Yoshi

Zelda

Sheik

E3 2006 Trailer

The following quotes are not in the game but they were used in the E3 2006 Trailer for "